Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)
Newly-minted Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chairman Felix Reyes will see to it that the agency would reach out and provide much-needed medical and other forms of assistance to more people, including those living in far-flung provinces.
This developed as PCSO General Manager Mel Robles, for his part, said he was looking forward to be working with Chairman Reyes.
GM Robles noted that Chairman Reyes’ long years of experience in the judiciary and sterling record as a public servant would surely help propel the PCSO to greater heights.
“This is dawning of a new era at PCSO, and the entire agency is looking forward to be working with Chairman Reyes,” GM Robles said.
In his first interview since being appointed to his new post, Chairman Reyes highlighted the need for expanding the scope and reach of assistance that the PCSO would give to the poor by tapping the services of their branch offices.
“We will think of ways na mabibigyan ng tulong ang lahat ng mga nangangailangang mahihirap nating mga kababayan lalo na iyong may mga sakit, kahit nasa malalayong lugar at lalawigan sila,” he said.
He explained that to achieve this goal, there is a need to improve connectivity and communication between the PCSO central office and its branch offices, so that the latter could immediately relay requests for assistance that they were receiving in their respective areas.
In the same interview, Chairman Reyes also expressed his desire to increase the annual revenue of the PCSO, “so that they could contribute more to the Bureau of Treasury and extend assistance to more poor people”.
Chairman Reyes noted that they could increase the current target revenue of P60-B for this year to as much P78-B by next year, and even P100 -B in the next two years if they could introduce more betting platforms while using new technology.
“There is a good chance that we could attain those target revenue especially with the introduction of new games and with the use of modern technology. We should not rely on fixed terminals anymore, but also utilize technology in our betting platforms,” he elaborated.
He continued that they are expecting an approval from the Office of the President of E-Lotto operations even as they are also looking at adding other betting platforms for their games.
“Once that happens, we expect to generate more revenue which will be a big boost to our charity and medical programs.”
Chairman Reyes also intend to correct the misimpression created by recent Senate investigations on the operations of PCSO pointing out that those initiatives created suspicions on public’s mind.
“Wala naman talagang katotohanan ang mga alegasyon laban sa PCSO. Ang problema ay naapektuhan ang imahe ng ahensya dahil dito,” he said.
He then reiterated an earlier invitation of the agency to the lawmakers to witness and observe for themselves the actual process of draws, for them to come up with objective recommendations.
As a lawyer and former judge, Chairman Reyes also vowed that all the actions of the PCSO will be within the bounds of the law.
He also revealed that they will also work to resolve all the legal cases filed against the PCSO during the previous administrations.
“Ang daming kasong isinampa laban sa mga nakaraang administrasyon at gusto natin na maresolba na ang mga ito. Wala kasing mga lawyer na nakaupo noong mga nakaraan kaya tuloy maraming mga kaso ang naisampa sa kanila,” he stressed. (PR)
